New canal between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean

$ 40 billion for a new canal between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. This is the budget that a Chinese entrepreneur is ready to put on the table to build and operate a new canal in Nicaragua. Nicaraguan parliament recently awarded a concession for 50 years and hopes to take revenge on history, which saw its neighbor Panama Canal win the race.

The Americans and the Gold Rush

The canal of Nicaragua is indeed an old story. Already in 1825, when the country was part of the Federal Republic of Central America, a project of an oceanic canal was envisaged. Americans were then in the gold rush period, the railway was still under construction, the port of San Francisco was about to take off ... The idea of a sea route linking the east and the western United States was beginning to emerge. Even then, some goods were transiting via Central America and via the San Juan River in Costa Rica, and then transported by rail to a port on the Pacific.

But Panama won the race to the canal

The first application of Nicaragua was dismissed, too politically and economically unstable, but also because of a British presence too close. However, in 1849, the American billionaire Vanderbilt gets exclusive right to build a canal. The civil war that broke out put an end to this project. Meanwhile, Panama takes a step ahead. The work, led by the French Ferdinand de Lesseps and financed by the United States began in 1880.

In 1914, the Panama Canal opened. In 2004, the Nicaraguan government has decided to revive the project. The idea was to dig a canal that could accommodate ships upto 250,000 tons, where the Panamanian neighbor is limited to 65,000 tons. At exactly the same time, Panama ratifies the launch of gigantic works and construction of new locks to accommodate ships of 380 meters long, 50 meters wide and 15 meters draft. The project, started in 2007 and should be completed in 2015, the new Panama Canal will double the annual production capacity up to 510 million tonnes.

The new El Dorado for Asian goods?

Never mind the HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Group, owned by a billionaire from Hong Kong, did not seem to fear the competition. In a statement, he believes that the combined volume that could pass through the canals of Panama and Nicaragua could bring 1.4 trillion dollars in 2030 The feasibility study is expected to start in 2015, the work would last at least 10 years. The route of the channel is not yet known, but it would cross Lake Nicaragua and measure more than 200 km. Three times more than the Panama Canal. Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in Central America, hopes for this mammoth project. Along the canal, the Chinese group promises a rail, two zones and airports. The government expects an increase of 15% of the country's wealth through the channel. But must, in the meantime, deal with criticisms and concerns of opponents who fear the country's sovereignty threatened by the arrival of Chinese interests. The competition, the Panama Canal in this case, does not speak for now. But it is clear that increasing transmission capacity in Central America will redistribute the geography of global shipping lines. And that Nicaragua canal or not, the future of trade from Asia might move towards the Pacific Ocean.